Conservation Careers Podcast

Last year, Sir David Attenborough said that saving the planet is now a communications challenge. And within conservation there is a growing realisation that we need to do much more to share our messages, to encourage more support and action. As a result, conservation employers are rapidly looking for people with communications skills. They want staff who can plan communications activities, who can...

Conferences, meetings, festivals, community gatherings, networking events and more... Today there are MANY in-person and virtual conservation events to choose from! So how can you make the most of conservation events for your career? In this episode we discuss how events can help your career, how to choose which event(s) to participate in and how to make the most of an event - before, during and a...

If professional conservationists could go back in time and replay the clock what useful information would they have learnt sooner, that would have helped them in their careers? What things might be very different to the expectations of someone just starting out in conservation, and useful to know? Sadly we haven't worked out how to time travel just yet, but we can share our career reflections with...

Getting experience - whether volunteering, interning or even starting your own project - can do a lot for you in the early stages of your career. It can help you understand yourself, test drive different options, grow your network, demonstrate your passion and commitment to prospective employers, build your skillset and make you more employable. But... how do you get experience of conservation whe...

As conservationists, one thing we’ve seen a lot of on the news in recent years is forest fires.   Huge blazes in Australia, California, the Amazon razing forests to the ground and decimating wildlife unlucky enough to be in its path.  Today we’re speaking with someone who works on the front line as an expert on fires and forest ecology within California.   Dr Hugh Safford is a Regional Ecologist f...

Have you ever considered working as an environmental consultant?   Do you know what one is and does, and what skills they are looking for?  Today we’re speaking to Nancy Thomson, who’s the Director and founder of Thomson Environmental Consultants – a very well known name within the industry.   Nancy has set up two consultancies already. The first she sold, before going round the world on a boat fo...

In this episode we’re discussing what it’s like to study and work within academia, how to survive it, enjoy it and more..! Joining our host Dr Nick Askew is Dr Fernando Mateos-González of Bioblogía – or Nando he’s often known - and Dr Stephanie Schuttler from the world of Fancy Scientist.   

What would have happened if we’d started engaging young people in the conservation movement much earlier? Would we be seeing more action, impact and progress within the sector now as a result?  And how can we address diversity and inclusion issues, in a sector that traditionally has been dominated by white men from relatively affluent backgrounds?  These are some of the topics we discuss in today’...

Today we’re talking to a hugely inspiring figure within the UK ecology scene, who enjoys disrupting the market, and doing things differently.  Professor David Hill CBE is chairman and founding owner of  The Environment Bank  which he set up because of his concerns at the way wildlife was being treated within the planning and development sector.  In this episode we cover a lot of ground, and discus...

In this episode we’re delving deeper into the conservation sector and exploring what conservationists need to be better at, in order to save more species, habitats and sites.   Joining our host Dr Nick Askew is Dr Fernando Mateos-González of  Bioblogía  – or Nando he’s often known - and Dr Stephanie Schuttler from the world of  Fancy Scientist .    During this third episode of a new format of the...

Have you ever met someone and feel like you’ve known them for years? You just clicked? That happened with today’s guest for me.  Marnix van Holland is the WWF Global Programme Manager for their Youth & Education work.  Before the podcast we were chatting and getting to know one another, and in the space of about 10-15 minutes we’d covered so many interesting topics that we took the call to include...

In this episode we’re delving deeper into the world of applying for jobs in the conservation sector. Joining our host Dr Nick Askew is Dr Fernando Mateos-González of  Bioblogía  - or Nando he’s often known and Dr Stephanie Schuttler from the world of  Fancy Scientist .   During this second of a new pilot format of the podcast the conservation career super-team talk about their own experiences of a...

In this episode we’re exploring a new format which we hope you’ll enjoy. We’ve had 2 years of 1:1 podcast interviews and spoken to over 50 amazing conservationists about their careers, the industry and shared their advice. We love it and will continue to do this. However, through the podcast we’ve often felt the need for some topics to go deeper into the discussion – there's lots more to say, and...

How do you conserve a species which is incredibly hard to see? A ghost species?  That’s the challenge faced by today’s guest Helen Turnbull, CEO of The Cape Leopard Trust in South Africa.  The Cape leopard is the stuff of legends.   It’s seldom seen and highly elusive, surviving in some of the most inhospitable habitat possible – the rugged mountain ranges of South Africa’s Western Cape.  And here...

What unique challenges do women face in conservation?   Are self-sabotage and imposter syndrome more common in women, and how can female conservationists gain more support in their careers?  Today’s episode is something a little bit different…   It’s a recording of a recent webinar by Conservation Careers where we explored the barriers and opportunities for the women, who have dedicated their care...

Have you ever met someone and thought to yourself, how has this person done so much in such a short space of time? I felt like that speaking to today’s inspiring guest – Josh Powell. Joshua is a conservation biologist and presenter for the WWF Voices campaign on global biodiversity, covering conservation issues from the High Arctic to the Antarctic. In 2017, as a National Geographic Explorer, Josh...

In this episode we’re speaking with Dr Stephanie Schuttler from the world of Fancy Scientist. Stephanie is an unconventional wildlife biologist, entrepreneur, and careers adviser who has spent nearly two decades studying all over the world. She’s also author of ‘Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology: What It’s Like and What You Need to Know’. In this podcast episode we explore what it’s like to be a w...

Today we're chatting with yacht skipper, author and marine conservationist Colin Speedie. Colin has had a lifelong involvement with the sea and its inhabitants. He's an expert on basking sharks in his own boat since childhood. We had an enjoyable and wide ranging discussion about basking sharks, the role of yachts and sailing in conservation, and increasing focus on ecotourism as a sustainable way...

How do you go from being an athlete playing on varsity football and basketball teams in Canada and Europe to setting up your own ecotourism operation, which helps to conserve wildlife in both Guyana and Belize? That's the journey that our guest today, Jordan Flagel, has been on in his career so far. Jordan is the Executive Director and Founder of TREE, whose mission is to provide life changing exp...

Today we're speaking with the host of The Case for Conservation podcast, and Programme Director at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, André Mader. André is a conservation biologist by training and he's worked mostly in biodiversity policy, first in his native South Africa, and then also in Canada, Switzerland, and then also Japan. During the podcast, we talk about the role of polic...

Have you ever met someone and wondered in awe about how they have done so much in such a short space of time? That's a feeling I got when I first met Elliott Connor, who's our guest on the podcast today. Elliott is a 17 year old Australian popular science writer, presenter, producer, and so many other things. He's best known for founding the International Environmental NGO Human Nature Projects, w...

Have you ever picked up a can of fish in the supermarket and wondered what the MSC certified symbol actually means for the tuna in the can? Most of us know it means the fish is from sustainable stocks. But how is this judged and verified and how did the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) manage to use consumer choice to certify 17% of all fisheries globally as sustainable in just 20 years? Today we'...

Today we're speaking to Anthony Ochieng, or Tony Wild as he is often known. Tony is a Kenyan-born wildlife ecologist, conservation photographer, traveller, educator, and explorer. He is a busy man! I've been following Tony's work for the past three years and his photography of conservation projects is truly inspiring. He has quickly and rightly amassed a collection of awards for his work, helping...

Today we're speaking with Beth Thoren, Deputy CEO of Client Earth, and someone who's spearheading a huge and exciting drive to create 20,000 jobs in nature through a new National Nature Service. We start our chat today about this big new idea and then discuss her role at Client Earth. Before then Beth shares her fascinating career story to date, which has seen her working in the US Merchant Navy,...

Today we're talking to Dr. Kerry Kriger, Founder and Executive Director of SAVE THE FROGS! Kerry is a powerhouse in the amphibian world, having set up an organisation to help save threatened frogs, toads, newts, salamanders and caecilians across the world. And he's got his work cut out. Of the seven and a half thousand species of amphibians 50% of declining and one in four are threatened with exti...